Blane Schvaneveldt, who passed away on July 5 at the age of 76, saddled many great champions, but none of them captivated the public and captured the heart of his trainer like Town Policy.

Town Policy had the title of 2-year-old racing champion wrapped up in October 1977. From 10 starts, the bay gelding had already claimed nine wins, including four stakes victories, and had earned $138,000 as runner-up in the All American Futurity.

But on the morning of October 20, 1977, five days after his record-setting win in the Fresno Futurity,  Town Policy was missing from his stall at Schvaneveldt’s southern California ranch.  He had been loaded him into a van and abducted sometime during the night.

Suspicions quickly focused south of the border, since the gelding’s lip tattoo prohibited anyone but owner Ivan Ashment from racing him in America.

Ashment, who bred Town Policy and had been a client of Schvaneveldt’s since the 1950s, offered a $15,000  reward for information leading to the return of the horse. But after five months of false leads, Ashment and Schvaneveldt were skeptical about their chances of ever seeing Town Policy again.

Then a call came from Mexican police in the State of Durango. Town Policy had turned up in a local cornfield. Schvaneveldt flew to Durango, where he found the gelding in poor condition and 150 pounds under weight, but seemingly sound.

No one was ever apprehended for the crime.

When Town Policy returned to California, Schvaneveldt began conditioning the champion for a return to racing. The Los Alamitos Derby, 10 weeks away, seemed an impossible goal, but the 3-year-old gelding was thriving. Two weeks before the trials, Schvaneveldt entered him in the trials under regular rider Kenny Hart.

Town Policy won his Los Alamitos Derby trial in the record time of 21.62 seconds, then came back a week later in the Derby to win in 21.58. Later that year he collected $120,000 for second-place in the All American Derby.

Over the next five years, Town Policy would earn two more AQHA year-end divisional championships and increase his earnings to $862,000.

But there would be no happy ending for Town Policy, after all.

On the night of January 3, 1984, 9-year-old Town Policy was entered in an allowance race at Los Alamitos with Kenny Hart in the irons. When the gates opened, the gelding raced to the lead. Then Hart felt an awkward shift, as his horse hit the inside rail.

The clock had run out for Town Policy. Veterinarians confirmed a broken shoulder that would be impossible to mend. An inconsolable Kenny Hart spent the remainder of the night in Town Policy’s stall.

The next morning, after Blane Schvaneveldt bid him a tearful goodbye, Town Policy was euthanized and laid to rest in the infield at Los Alamitos Racetrack.

During his career, Town Policy compiled a record of 22 wins, 17 seconds and 8 thirds from 64 starts.